legal terms

A legal document in which you state your wishes about certain kinds of medical treatments and life-prolonging procedures. The document takes effect if you can't communicate your own healthcare decisions. A living will may also be called a healthcare directive, advance directive or directive to physicians.

LLC

See limited liability company.

LLP

See limited liability partnership.

loan broker

A person who specializes in matching home buyers with appropriate mortgage lenders. For a fee--often paid by the lender--a loan broker provides any easy and effective way to find the cheapest mortgage rates.

loan consolidation

The combining of a number of loans into a single new loan. Consolidation typically extends your repayment period and lowers your monthly payments, thereby greatly increasing the amount of interest you pay over the life of your loan.

loss damage waiver (LDW)

Rental car insurance that makes the rental car company responsible for damage to or theft of a rental car. This insurance is a major consumer ripoff, as it often duplicates coverage provided by the renter's regular car insurance and/or the credit card she uses to rent the car. Nevertheless, hard-sell practices by rental car agents often dupe people into buying LDWs they don't really need. LDW is also called "collision damage waiver."